The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-01-06
REPUBLICAN, WASTE.

=
ly disarranged in the days of war and
Chicago Herald.
REPUBLICAN, WASTE.
Secretary whitney's Reforms in tho Navy
Experimentation the Peoples Money
Was Squandered During Former Admin
istrations.
One more step in the reorganization
of the navy administration upon busi-
ness principles has just been taken.
The yard at Boston has been changed
to an equipment yard, and placed in
charge of Commodore Schley, Chief of
the Bureau of Equipment and Recruit
ing. Under this same new policy of
devoting the yards as far as practicable
to specialties, the Washington yard had
previously been turned over to the Rn-
reau of Ordnance, and this will be the
great and only factory for finishing
naval guns. A third project is that of
making some yard a general supply
depot for the navy, the one at Brooklyn
being perhaps the most likely to be
chosen for this purpose. 1t is further
probable that this or some other yard
will be designated as the chief center
of construction and repair.
Besides this assignment of yards to
special bureaus, we find a second sys-
TEN of reorganization going on in the
concentration of authority, responsible
ity, and duties hitherto scattered among
all the bureaus into single bureau.
This is illustrated by the reorganization
of the Bureau of Provisions and Cloth
ing, under a new Paymaster-General,
making it practically Bureau of Ac-
counts and Supplies, though it has not
yet received that name. Another eX-
ample was to have been furnished in
the reorganization of the Bureau rof
Construction and Repair; but the secre-
tary, after long delaying the reappoint-
ment of Mr.. Wilson as Chef Con-
structor, with this view, decided re-
| Gently that under the existing law he
did not possess the needed power, and
| accordingly awaits action on the Naval
Reorganization bill now under discus
sion in the House.
The fundamental Importance of the
reforms thus initiated by Secretary
Whitney is very clearly indicated in
these words from the recent annual re-
port of Admiral Porter:
81 think the opinion is general throughout
| the service that, until the department is reor-
| ganized, we can have no system, maintain no
proper discipline, and build; no effective ships,
| but that reorganization of the department
will bring order out Of chaos, and the navy will
| run along as smoothly as it did previous to
| 1912, when the Board Of Navy Commissioners
| were the advisers OF the Secretary of the Navy
| and had administrative and executive author.
| ity." -
Under the system in vogue before
the beginning of the present reform.
there were in each of the navy yards
separate establishments for six or seven
bureaus. As consequence, the work
was duplicated. Each organization
had its own shops, storehouses and
gangs of laborers, besides its clerical
force, when much of the work was
practically of a sort common to most
of the bureaus. Secretary Whitney,
on looking over his department, was
astonished to find six bureaus in the
same yard, separately buying little lots
of stationery, instead of having the
purchases made in common for all the
bureaus in each yard, and, in fact, for
all the yards, by a general contract,
with subsequent distribution on requi-
sitions. He found that seven bureaus
bought coal in one hundred and sixty
six separate open purchases, instead OF
by contract in large lots. He found
three bureaus buying oil for the differ
ent parts of the same ship. These are
ordinary examples of the want of system.
Not less remarkable was the waste OF
supplies after they had been purchased.
This resulted largely from the fact that
many sorts of work were done at each
yard, and that whenever yard was
temporarily closed the material was
usually left to take care of itself, often
deteriorating, while perhaps in another
yard kept in operation exactly similar
material was purchased. Some of the
illustrations of this fact given by Mr..
Whitney are extraordinary:
"At the eight navy yards there have accumu
| lated altogether of augers and bits 56,566, OF
| which q, ,274 have been lying for several years
| at closed yards, where no work has been or is
|
hand, 1896 gross lying at closed yards. There
are 146, 3S5 files in stock, AZ, 142 of them lying al
| closed yards. There Il, ,S13 paint brushes in
| stock, 2,246 of these in the stores at closed
yards. All Of these tools are serviceable, most
ly new OF most Of these articles some bureaus
have recently made considerable purchases,
| and are even doing so at the present time, while
| to the credit Of other bureaus there are very
| large amounts in store. There are found to be
| over 1900 tons Of cast and wrought iron lying
in scrap about the yards, 1884, 900 pounds of COM
position and brass, $4,000 pounds of old copper
and 900 pounds of old Lead
The difference to be looked for under
the new order of things may be illus
trated by the Boston yard. All the ma.
terial at that point not of use for the
Bureau of Equipment will be collected
and sent to the yards where it belongs.
All the equipment materials in the
other yards will be collected and sent
to Boston. With such system pre-
vailing everywhere, we are not likely
to find another report like that of Cap
tain Meade's Inventory Board, that ma
terial to the amount of three or four
millions is scattered about, fast deteri.
Grating or already obsolete and useless.
IN. Y. Sun.